Bloomberg reported that China suspended the release of industry specific data from a monthly survey of manufacturing purchasing managers, with an official saying there's limited time to analyze the large number of responses.
Mr Cai Jin vice president of the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing, which compiles the data with the National Bureau of Statistics told reporters that "We now have 3,000 samples in the survey, and from a technical point of view, time is very limited there are many industries, you know.'
The disappearance of data on industries including steel adds to issues hampering analysis of the world's second-biggest economy, after fake invoices inflated trade numbers this year. The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index also omitted readings on export orders, imports and inventories without any explanation from the government.
Mr Xu Xiangchun a steel researcher and chief analyst at www.cnchemicals.com said that "Suspension of the monthly data, without prior notice, makes the research work difficult for us. The random absence of official data is disorienting.'
The industry-specific PMI readings have only been available via paid subscription, while the broader data are issued via press releases.